Build a future for children in a conflict zone

                                                            REACH OUT CAMEROON

                                                   Activity Report for the Education Project

                                                    For the Period 01^st – 28^th February 2021

This report is written by the proprietor of Hope Alive Foundation Academy Mr. Noble Amik.

The month of February was challenging but encouraging as we learned new strategies to keep our charity school project alive. Just like the last part of January that was characterized by lockdown due to the advent of the African Nation Championship, the month of February started slowly with a poor turnout of school children, as most of them were kept home by their parents for security reasons. In a bid to communicate their agenda to the international community, the non-state arm group in the ongoing Anglophone crisis in the North West and South West regions of Cameroon declared ghost town on days matches of African Nation Championship were played in Limbe. This made parents to keep their children at home for fear of the unknown.

Limited classroom space is becoming one of the school’s challenges given the growing number of children, especially coming from war zones in the North West Region. We received in the month of February 6 children displaced from Bui Division who are now schooling with us. Three out of the six children are in senior primary classes; 5 and 6, while 2 are in the junior primary; class one and nursery.  None of these displaced children are paying fees. This is because, apart from being a charity academy, they don’t have the financial means for that.

Away from the above-cited challenges, we were able to record some successes in the month of February. Three of our six teachers benefited from an in-house training pedagogy program for Nursery and primary schools in Cameroon with the help of a pedagogy expert from the Tiko Sub-Divisional Delegation of Basic Education. We also took part in a mini-cultural and sporting activity for primary schools in the Mongo zone of Tiko. Before the end of the month of February, we were able to remobilize parents who are still keeping their children at home due to the effects of the lockdown to send them back to school. Attendance in the month of February increased to 173 pupils from nursery to primary six, an indication that we need additional classroom space to conveniently host the growing number of children, and equally increase the number of teachers from six to eight. This will help us to have a teacher per class from nursery to primary six.

With help from you donors, through Reach Out, our charity school project will go a long way to impact the lives of needy community children in the Anglophone regions; it will shape their destinies for a better future.

We are grateful for the financial support Reach Out NGO has been giving to us from your donations to take care of two teachers. Attached to this report are pictures of the students and teachers depicting the smooth functioning of the establishment.

Sincerely,

Noble Amik

Proprietor,

Hope Alive Foundation Academy.

The project aims to give children in the conflict-affected North West and South West regions of Cameroon the best shot at emancipation and self-development through access to quality education. Attached below is the report comprising of two letters of acknowledgment and appreciation from the two beneficiary institutions.

Thank you for your constant support.

1)      Letter from Hope Alive Foundation Academy

1. Our School Operations

The month of December 2020 was full of activities as it was the last month of the year. The school moved to her permanent site, though still with semi-permanent classroom structures in December. At the beginning of December 2020, we were able to structure the classroom space from nursery to primary six levels as follows:

• Nursery section (nursery one and two kids) with an enrollment of 45;
• Level one (classes one and two) with an enrollment of 55 pupils;
• Level two (classes three and four) with   an enrollment of 44 pupils;
• Level three (classes five and six) with an enrollment of 28 pupils.

The total enrollment stood at 172 kids and pupils, and 6 teachers (Three trained and three volunteers). The month of December 2020 saw the dynamic teachers and pupils showcase an encouraging performance in both classroom work and extracurricular activities. December 2020 ended with the organization of a Christmas party and prize awards during which Reach Out donated toys, gifts, and books to the children especially orphans and vulnerable children (IDPs) of our charity school project.

The school had a smooth reopening on the 6^th of January 2021, despite the effects of the ongoing Anglophone crisis in the region, which made the children stay home for some days due to lockdown. We successfully registered 17 pupils for this year’s Government Common Entrance and First School Leaving Certificate examinations.

1. Challenges

One of our major challenges is additional classroom space. The number of children keeps increasing as most of them are internally displaced, escaping from the crisis-affected towns in the North West Region of Cameroon.

Our kids, pupils, and teachers are doing well and looking forward to a better future. We are very grateful for your constant support.

Sincerely,

Noble Amik,

Executive Director,

Hope Alive Foundation

 2) Letter from Mah Di’s Centre for Children in Distress

Dear donors, we thank you so much for your donations that sustained us throughout 2020 and early 2021. We carried out the following activities in our school during this reporting period;

The children were seriously involved with studies at school. They did their assigned duties at home in the morning before leaving for school. While in school, they learned so many subjects including Home Economics and Hand Work. The reason we introduced these extracurricular activities is so that they can acquire skills in those areas that will help them in the future.

The children were taught how to make fruit salad, chin-chin, fish pie and cakes as well as how to sew dresses using their hands with needles and thread. In addition, they were taught how to use a computer and were all very happy as it was the first time for some of them to touch a computer screen.

The children were equally involved in sports which were done every Friday. All the children participated in various sports activities including running, handball, and football. On some Fridays, inter-class competitions were organized between different classes and this made the children very happy.

We organized a Christmas party on the school premises. Many partners donated gifts to the children and Reach Out also gave us educative toys and books. These items were distributed to the children and they were so happy.

The school has 155 children; 99 boys and 56 girls. The teachers are 8 in number; 7 female and 1 male. We have classes from Nursery to primary six

Without your support, we would not have achieved all these. We are sincerely grateful for your constant support and care to see that the children receive a quality education. We promise not to fail you, our dear donors. May God bless you all.

 Sincerely,

Mah Diana Foniborg,

Founder,

Mah Di's Orphanage.

On behalf of these two beneficiaries and all the children benefiting from the amazing support of our GlobalGiving donors, we at Reach Out heartily expressed our unreserved thanks and gratitude.

Sincerely, 

Tume Emmaculate,

Project Coordinator

Reach Out Cameroon